


Christmas Capers

by OtterlyDeerlightful



Series: Holiday Hullabaloo [2]
Category: LazyTown
Genre: Anxiety, Christmas, Christmas Party, M/M, Pre-Relationship, Secret Santa, attempts at flirting, the kids are too sneaky for their own good
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-12
Updated: 2017-12-25
Packaged: 2019-02-13 18:07:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 14,465
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12989616
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OtterlyDeerlightful/pseuds/OtterlyDeerlightful
Summary: Sportacus finally has the perfect opportunity to wear the costume that Robbie made for him: the LazyTown Christmas party. Without a persona to hide behind, though, how can Sportacus win over the town villain?





	1. Part I

Nervous excitement filled the airship as Sportacus paced back and forth. His pacing looked more like a series of flips and twirls to and fro across the length of the floor, but for Sportacus, it was definitely pacing. Tonight was the LazyTown Christmas party and he was starting to worry.

A few weeks earlier he had offered to help Bessie and the mayor put up holiday decorations across the town. He was busy setting up a string of lights through the sports park when Stephanie and her friends had come up to invite him to the upcoming festivities. They had all come up from behind and gathered around a picnic table in a giant huddle, catching the hero by surprise. Someone threw a large blanket over the table that hung down to the ground.

“We wanted the table to be warm!” Ziggy had quickly explained when Sportacus asked about it. “It’s getting cold outside!”

A couple of the other children had nodded in awkward agreement.

The hero had just shaken his head in amusement, figuring the blanket was probably part of whatever game they might have been playing while he was occupied. Sportacus was never very good with games of pretend, but it always warmed his heart to see them making up characters and stories. Even moreso when Robbie would join in using one of his wonderful disguises.

“It _is_ getting colder out,” he had agreed, looking up to the sky and briefly wondering if it might snow soon. “I am glad to see you’ve all bundled up for the weather.”

It was at that point Stephanie had jumped into the conversation. “You’ll come to the Christmas party, won’t you, Sportacus? It won’t be a real party without _you_!”

He had laughed at that given a fond, affirmative nod. “Of course I will! I can’t wait!”

“We’re going to do a Secret Santa for the party, too.” That had been her cue to pull out what looked like a fishbowl filled with folded pieces of paper. “You’ll be part of it, too, right?”

“Of course,” Sportacus had replied before plunging his hand into the bowl.

He fished around for a moment before deciding on a well-buried bit of paper. He pulled it out and smiled at the excited gaggle of children before carefully unfolding the little white strip and reading the name written upon it.

_Robbie Rotten_

Sportacus felt his heart drop into his stomach in an instant, kicked out of his chest to make room for the swarm of butterflies that had suddenly returned in spite of it being the dead of winter. Of all the people in town, Sportacus had picked Robbie’s name.

“Hi, Robbie!”

Sportacus had startled only briefly before he quickly refolded the strip of paper and jumped to his feet. He tucked the lot away under a bracer in fear of it being seen. The villain, who had been walking nearby on some apparent errand, hadn’t seemed to notice the hero’s nerves in the slightest. Thank heavens.

The tall man glanced over at the group and scowled at the sound of the child’s call, narrowing his eyes in suspicion.

“What do _you_ want?”

Stephanie had hurried back to the other side of the table at that point, earning a raised eyebrow from the town villain. To the adults’ surprise, she rushed forward only a second later holding the fishbowl above her head.

“Robbie! We’re doing a Secret Santa for our Christmas Party! Y-you’ll be part of it…right?” she had asked, suddenly looking worried.

Sportacus swallowed. Robbie eyed the child for a moment before glancing briefly in the hero’s direction and sending Sportacus’ heart a flutter all over again. The hero had wrung his hands for a nervous moment before speaking up.

“You’ll come to the party, won’t you, Robbie?” he asked in a voice that had been a little weaker than intended.

Sportacus recalled how the villain’s face contorted at the sound of his voice. A conflicted mess of gnashed teeth, furrowed brow, and an adorably twitching nose. Stephanie just stood there and held the bowl up to him in an eternal display of hope.

“M-maybe,” Robbie grumbled reluctantly. “Only if the food’s good.”

“I’ll make a big cake, just for you! I promise!” Stephanie had assured him.

He twitched his nose again and, to Sportacus’ relief, dipped his hand into the fishbowl of names. “W-we’ll see.”

He pulled a slip of paper out of the bowl and waved Stephanie away. Without looking at what was written on the paper, Robbie had tucked the ticket into his vest pocket and turned away from the group without another word.

Satisfied with the villain’s response, Stephanie squealed and ran back to her friends. Instead of engaging Sportacus in further conversation or asking him to play a game as he had expected, the children instead swarmed the picnic table, dragged the blanket off,  and gathered round to ball it up before hurrying away together.

“Bye, Sportacus! See you at the party!” Ziggy had called over his shoulder as the group disappeared.

Well, that had been strange.

Sportacus had gone back to stringing the town’s holiday lights after that, though he hadn’t been entirely present as he did so. He simply hadn’t been able to get the villain’s reaction to the invitation out of his mind. The whole thing had made Sportacus a little nervous, he would eventually admit, but Robbie hadn’t said _no_ , per say. And he _did_ take a Secret Santa slip. That was encouraging.

It also brought about his current conundrum.

Sportacus glanced over to his bed where a familiar red-and-green costume was spread out and waiting for him. He had taken it out often since receiving it the month prior. Robbie had made it for him, presumably to wear sometime during the holiday season…but when? Where? He had barely _seen_ the villain since the hero’s little Halloween escapade, and Sportacus couldn’t figure out what that meant. If it meant anything. Maybe Robbie had just been busy…maybe he had decided that no, he _didn’t_ want to be friends with Sportacus, much less anything more than that. Maybe there was no real reason at all and the hero was overthinking the whole thing.

Sportacus hadn’t known what to do with the beautiful handmade Christmas elf costume until Stephanie’s invitation. He knew it was the perfect opportunity to wear the outfit, but he was anxious about that idea. Until recently, Sportacus had thought there was nothing in this world that could truly scare him. But, oh, how the potential rejection of a one Robbie Rotten had proven that to be a lie. Would Robbie even _be_ at the party to see him wear it?

“Of course he will be there,” Sportacus reasoned with himself. He stopped his pacing. “He took a name for the gift exchange...” He wondered whose name the villain had pulled from the bowl.

The hero sighed and let his eyes wander over to the carefully wrapped box sitting on his pantry table. He had been elated to find purple wrapping paper for it, complete with a variety of snowmen speckled throughout. Finding an orange bow on clearance from the fall season had been the perfect addition to his gift’s presentation. Now Sportacus just had to hope that Robbie liked what was inside. He _had_ worked hard on it over the past few weeks…even before he knew that the kids had planned a Secret Santa exchange at all.

The hero glanced out his expansive window, taking note of the sun’s position in the sky. “Almost time for the party,” he said to himself.

Time to get ready.

He backflipped over to his bed, looking over the outfit one more time. Red shirt with green collar and cuffs with beautifully intricate designs embroidered in white; green pants and matching cap, and sturdy, traditional brown for the boots and belt, which was complete with an attachment for his crystal. It was flawless. And, as he soon figured out after a quick wardrobe change, a perfect fit as well. Robbie truly _was_ a master of his craft, wasn’t he?

“Mirror!”

Sportacus took in a deep breath as he the mirror descended from the ceiling. He looked himself over, making sure everything was in place. If he didn’t know any better, he might very well believe he was looking at one of Santa’s elves from the North Pole. He couldn’t help but laugh.

“Robbie truly is the Master of Disguise,” he snickered to himself. “He can even make me fool myself!”

The hero dismissed the mirror and took up his Secret Santa gift from the table. He was ready. Sportacus called for the door of his ship to open and leapt outside. The cool, crisp air of winter raced by him as he plummeted to the ground. A short rotation and landing later, there he was: a Christmas elf standing in a LazyTown winter wonderland.

Snow had fallen the night before, leaving the town under a beautiful blanket of white. It was lovely, and the perfect way to get Sportacus into the holiday spirit. He jogged to the city hall, eager to see what fun the children had set up for the event. Sportacus walked up the hall steps. He felt a little silly having the urge to knock tickling the back of his mind and did his best to suppress it as he opened the door to go inside.

The entire main room was decorated; it had streamers, lights, balloons, and a big, beautiful tree near the entranceway. Beneath it sat a pile of presents from what looked to be nearly everyone in town, each of them waiting to be picked up by their mystery recipient later in the evening.

“I hope Robbie likes you,” Sportacus whispered to the small purple box as he set his gift among the others.

“Sportacus!”

‘Guys, Spotracus is here!”

The hero looked up to see the brilliant faces of his young friends racing toward him.

“Wow!” Ziggy cried. “You look like one of Santa’s elves!”

He laughed. “That’s because I am…at least for tonight.” He pushed out his chest and placed his fists on his hips. “Tonight, I am _Merri Mint_ the Christmas elf!”

The children all exploded into a torrent of giggles and amusement.

“Does that mean you can put in a good word with Santa for us?” Trixie teased.

The hero shrugged nonchalantly, though he couldn’t stop himself from grinning at the girl. “I suppose so…but that would mean I _do_ have to report any mischief-making, as well,” Sportacus reminded her with a look.

“Spoilsport,” the little trickster mumbled in embarrassment, though she did flash him a small smile.

“Do you want any sportscandy?” Ziggy asked around the candy cane sticking out of his mouth. He pointed to a long buffet table on the other side of the room. “We’ve got tons!”

Stephanie nodded. “Yeah, and Uncle Milford and I made some sugar-free Christmas cookies, too, if you want some!”

“That was very thoughtful, Staphanie. Thank you.”

The pink-clad child blushed. She grabbed his hand and started to pull the hero over toward the table. “Come on. You need to see the ice sculpture Ms. Busybody bought for the party before it melts! It’s a partridge in a pear tree!”

“It’s _my_ ice sculpture!” Stingy protested, though his cries were thoroughly ignored by the other children.

The hero let himself be lead toward the display, taking a quick survey of the party and, more importantly, its guests. LazyTown wasn’t a very big place, but it certainly seemed like the majority of residents were in attendance. Except for one. Every flash of purple caught the hero’s eye, and every glance was a disappointment.

“—and look,” the girl at his side continued. “We were able to put real pears around the whole base, like they all fell from the tree!”

“That was _my_ idea!”

“No it wasn’t!”

Sportacus forced a smile, nodding as the children continued to talk about the party décor and who was responsible for what, particularly when it came to Stingy’s contributions to the conversation. But he was only half listening. Sportacus was too busy wondering about the whereabouts of the town’s handsome villain.


	2. Part II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for how short this one feels. I'm finding it a little hard to figure out where to draw lines.

On the whole, the party was delightful. The children were having a ball playing games and dragging Sportacus here and there to play them, as well as to introduce them to their visiting family members. The hero had no idea the kids had such big families; it seemed everyone had come to visit LazyTown for the holidays. He particularly liked meeting Pixel and Stingy’s many cousins. The small herd of new children _oooh_ ed and _ahhhed_ as Sportacus complied to his friends’ requests to demonstrate his handstands, flips, and other tricks. The adults, even the ones who seemed skeptical that the man in overly-festive attire was a real hero, seemed to be impressed with his playful display.

He didn’t notice Stephanie and Trixie standing off to the side of the group conversing with each other.

“See?” Stephanie whispered to her friend. “He did it again.”

“Are you sure?”

“Who _else_ would he be looking for? Everyone is right here.”

“Okay, good point.”

Yeah, Sportacus was definitely looking for someone. Every few tricks they could see his eyes dart around the room. After a flash of disappointment, his smile would return and he would entertain their visiting families and friends with something new. Stephanie was right; Sportacus was keeping an eye out for Robbie.

“So, what do we do?” Trixie whispered as she leaned into her pink-haired friend’s shoulder. “What if he doesn’t come?”

“I don’t know,” Stephanie said nervously, resisting the urge to bite her lip with worry. “Do you think anyone would notice if we snuck out to go find him?”

“Maybe the guys could cover for us. He’s probably just holed up at home whining. We just need to drag him out.”

“Trixie, we can’t be _mean_.”

“Well, he’s stubborn!” she countered.

“We don’t even know if he’s coming or not yet,” the first girl sighed. “We can’t get _too_ hasty. Maybe he’s getting ready right now.”

Trixie waved a dismissive hand and folded her arms in frustration. She watched her heroic friend cheer on one of Stingy’s little cousins who was trying to attempt a push-up alongside him. Sportacus _seemed_ happy, but it didn’t really reach his eyes, at least not entirely. Trixie didn’t like it. She also didn’t like the idea of her friend being disappointed if Robbie Rotten decided to live up to his name for the evening.

“We worked too hard to not have him show up!” Trixie whined.

“We didn’t do _that_ much,” Stephanie pointed out.

“Yeah, well, we did _something_. And we almost screwed _that_ up. Robbie…has to come.”

Trixie decided right then and there that she would make _sure_ things worked out tonight if it was the last thing she did. For Sportacus.

“It turned out okay. I don’t think they suspected anything.” Stephanie offered the other girl an encouraging smile. “Everything’ll be okay once Robbie comes.”

“ _If_ Robbie comes.”

“We can’t think like that. Robbie might be a little…cranky, but I don’t think he’d turn down a Christmas party.” She hoped he wouldn’t turn down a Christmas party. “Especially with the promise of cake and a surprise present.”

As the visiting family members slowly began to spread out and find new distractions, Sportacus bade farewell to his friends to do the same. Trixie watched as he retreated from the group and made his way back toward the buffet table in a series of flips through the crowd.

“I’ll go scout the door,” Trixie said suddenly, looking over at her friend. “I’ll let you know if I see him. If he’s not here in half an hour, we go hunting. Deal?”

Stephanie thought a moment and nodded. “Deal.”

The girls separated.

*****

Sportacus sighed as he reached for a beautiful red apple that sat atop a neatly stacked pile of sportscandy on the table. Eating slower than he normally would, the hero let his eyes jump from face to face around him. Despite recognizing the majority of party-goers from events in town, Sportacus couldn’t help but wonder if Robbie might be disguised somewhere among them. The hero hadn’t considered the idea that maybe Robbie would attend in disguise, but now he was beginning to worry that might be the case. And, if it was, how would he find the man?

“Dear heavens I thought the mustache was part of the costume!”

Sportacus turned toward the voice and came face-to-face with a familiar-looking blond woman and her black-haired companion. He lit up instantly.

“Hello!”

Shannon smiled, enveloping the hero in a warm hug. Cindy did likewise afterward.

“It is nice to see you both again,” Sportacus said happily. “I haven’t seen you since Halloween.”

Cindy shrugged. “Been busy, that’s all. It’s great to see you, too. How are _you_ , sweetheart? Oh, and where’s Robbie? He’s here with you, right?”

Sportacus’ smile fell at the mention of his villain. “I, well…I’m not sure,” he admitted. “I’ve been looking for him, but…I don’t think he’s here.”

The pair exchanged a concerned glance.

“Are you two okay?” Shannon asked worriedly.

The hero wasn’t sure how to answer that. He mulled the question over in his mind just long enough for the couple to take the silence as his response.

Cindy placed a gentle hand on Sportacus’ arm. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Now he was confused. “Talk about it?” he echoed.

“It was a fight, wasn’t it?” Shannon asked with an irritated sigh. “I keep telling that boy he needs to watch his words when he’s upset. He says things he doesn’t always mean and—”

“Oh, no. No, there was no fight, we…”

Oh. Wait. Now Sportacus understood what they were asking. The hero uncharacteristically started to sink into himself. He suddenly couldn’t figure out how to look either of his acquaintances in the eye.

“It…it is very nice that you are both concerned,” he said carefully. “B-but Robbie and I...” Why was this so hard? “I’m afraid we not together.”

Cindy’s hand flew to her mouth in embarrassment. “Oh! Oh, sorry! Um…” She glanced at her partner. “We just thought…I mean, on Halloween, you two…uh...”

“No, no, it’s alright,” he muttered sadly. Sportacus sighed. “I _was_ hoping he would be here…”

The man immediately found himself wrapped in another hug from Cindy. He returned the gesture, allowing his surprisingly tense shoulders to relax under her gentle concern. He could feel the woman’s breath on his ear as she whispered.

“Don’t worry, sweetheart. He’s crazy about you. Just give him time.”

She patted the hero on the back and released him. Sportacus’ face was pink, but he smiled for them. He wanted to believe the kind woman’s words, but part of him wouldn’t wholly allow it. Probably out of some semblance of self-preservation.

“Sportacus! Is that you?”

He turned at the sound of the mayor’s call and gave a quick wave of acknowledgement as he watched Milford and Bessie weave their way through the crowd. Cindy patted his shoulder in a final display of reassurance and gave him a farewell kiss on the cheek.

“Looks like you’re in high demand tonight,” Shannon complimented as they gave the mayor a wave of their own. “We should probably let you go. Sportacus, I guess?”

The hero laughed. “Oh, yes, sorry. Though, uh—” He gestured to the costume he wore. “—for tonight I’m Merri Mint the elf.”

Cindy giggled. “I love it! Well, anyway, I guess we should go track down Mrs. Homebody. Before she tries to fit half the buffet in her purse. You take care of yourself, okay, sweetie?”

Sportacus nodded. “It was nice to see you both again.”

“Likewise!” Shannon agreed.

With the mayor closing in, Shannon guided Cindy away by the arm. The woman gave Sportacus a quick wave good-bye as they busied themselves with others at the party. The hero sighed as they disappeared, wishing he knew them better, if only because they seemed to have picked up on something between himself and the town villain. It would have been nice to have a friendly party to confide in.

The man put on a smile and turned his attention to his new guests.

“I see you’ve certainly gotten into the Christmas spirit, Sportacus!” Bessie complimented as she gestured to the man’s outfit. “ _Very_ festive!”

“Oh my yes!” the mayor agreed with a nod. “Very nice indeed. Why, I didn’t know that you owned anything else besides your unifo— _ow!_ ”

Milford rubbed his side where Bessie had elbowed him.

The hero stifled a snicker, slowly trying to regain any composure he had lost during his last conversation. “This was, um, actually a gift,” he said, not wanting to admit how close the mayor’s observation was to the truth. “I thought it would be the perfect thing to wear to a Christmas party.”

“Oh, that’s wonderful!” Bessie squealed. “And such a good idea, too. Is it homemade?” she asked as she inspected the stitching.

Sportacus nodded.

“Oh, that’s so sweet. Milford, isn’t that lovely?”

The mayor nodded by her side. “Homemade gifts are my favorite. Stephanie made me this wonderful pair of mittens last year,” he said as he produced a pair of mittens made by talented, yet clearly armature hands from his pocket. “I don’t think anything keeps me warmer than these!”

Sportacus smiled. “Those are very nice, mayor. She made those only last year?”

“Yes, that girl is certainly creative. And she’s improved so much so quickly! Oh, but you already know what an expert she is now, don’t you?” the man chuckled. “But anyway, it’s been so nice to see her pick up a new hobby where she can be so creative!”

“She certainly excels at it,” the hero proudly agreed.

“Ah, speak of the devil,” Milford laughed as his niece skipped over to their little group. “Stephanie! We were just complimenting your knack for sewing.”

The pink-haired girl looked almost embarrassed at the compliment. Without a word, she gently took hold of Sportacus’ sleeve and gave it a gentle tug. Once the hero’s attention had been obtained, Stephanie gestured to the front door to draw his attention to the tall, nervous-looking man standing in the doorway. The room around him faded for an instant as Sportacus took in the sight. Robbie had finally come.


	3. Part III

Robbie’s nose twitched as he surveyed the room. Everyone was dressed well for the party, at least to some degree. By comparison, Robbie was wearing the same striped outfit that made up the majority of his daily wardrobe. At least said outfit had a dapper flare to its design. At the moment, though, his dark coat, almost magenta mittens, and bright orange earmuffs clashed terribly with the outfit underneath. His hair, though, as always, was perfect.

In his hands, the villain held a striped package. His fingers twitched and trembled where they hid as he nervously fondled the box. Robbie took in the room and quickly scurried over to the large tree to deposit his gift. The man stood there for a moment in awe. His gaze fixed on the gift bearing his favorite colors, a look of curious longing in his eyes for a moment. Robbie licked his lips and pulled himself away from the tree to go hang up his winter attire. Sportacus couldn’t fathom why the villain looked so shocked.

Seeing that Robbie was quickly making his way toward the buffet table, Sportacus excused himself from the mayor’s company and bounded over to intercept his villain. He launched himself into a flip, spinning in midair, and landed mere inches from the man busying himself with the available snacks.

“Hi, Robbie!”

Robbie sputtered and coughed at the sound of Sportacus’ greeting. He covered his mouth in the nick of time to avoid spraying punch across the entire table. He grabbed desperately for some paper towels nearby to clean up as he listened to Sportacus’ desperate apologies behind him.

“Don’t _do_ that!” Robbie snapped as he threw the now very pink paper towels in the nearby trash and spun around to face his nemesis. While Sportacus prepared himself for further shouting and reprimand, Robbie instead froze for a second while his widening eyes swept the hero up and down. “You actually wore it,” he said, practically whispering.

Sportacus gave a small, sheepish smile.

Robbie suddenly whipped his head violently, the shaking reminding Sportacus of a dog trying to get water out of its coat. The villain blinked a few times to refocus.

“What do you want, Sportaflop?” he asked sharply.

Ah, yes, a perfect opening! Sportacus absolutely beamed as he spoke. “Who’s that?” he asked innocently.

Robbie blinked rapidly for a moment, his nose wrinkling as the gears turned inside his head. All at once, the twitches ceased and were quickly replaced by a faint flush of pink in his cheeks. Sportacus had waited patiently for the villain to catch up to him, but decided to offer some additional clarification to move the conversation forward.

“My name is Merri Mint the Christmas elf,” the hero said as he held out a friendly hand. “My cousin Lawless told me all about you!”

Robbie’s nervous expression slowly melted into one of fond amusement. Sportacus did all he could to keep himself from giggling at the silly situation.

“Did he now?” Robbie asked with a smirk as he briefly took the man’s hand in greeting.

Sportacus gave an enthusiastic nod. “Oh, yes! He said you were quite the character.”

“ _Me?_ Heh. That’s rich coming from you—er, I mean, from him.”

The Christmas elf laughed as they shook hands. He was glad that Robbie seemed to be at ease now; his shoulders weren’t even hunched anymore. Perhaps all of that worrying had been for nothing. It certainly seemed to be, and Sportacus was happy for it.

“Do you like the party?” Sportacus asked cheerfully as Robbie took another, safer, sip of his punch.

“It’s alright,” the villain mumbled with a shrug. “Too many people, not enough desserts.”

Sportacus rolled his eyes. “Why don’t you try some sportscandy?” he suggested. “The pear tree ice sculpture has real—”

“I’ll pass,” Robbie grumbled as he picked up a cookie to munch on instead.

“Oh.”

Now what? The hero tried to think of something to say. Anything that might keep Robbie’s attention.

“Didn’t expect this many people to be here…”

Or, maybe Robbie would take the reins instead. That worked, too.

“Me either,” the hero agreed. “But it’s nice, isn’t it? Everyone’s families coming to visit for Christmas and celebrate…”

Robbie shrugged as he stared down at his cup. “Must be.”

Sportacus’ smile sagged. “What’s wrong?”

“Might be nice if you _have_ family,” he pointed out sullenly. “But for the rest of us, it’s a pretty sour reminder….” The villain didn’t finish his thought, instead opting to take another drink instead.

The hero slowly nodded in understanding. He hadn’t meant to make his friend feel bad. Robbie was here by himself, after all.

“I suppose it can be,” Sportacus empathized. “But...Christmas is about friends, too. Friends are the family that you get to choose for yourself. You can always celebrate with friends!”

“If I had any.”

His face dropped. “R-Robbie, you have friends!” the hero insisted. “You wouldn’t have been invited if they didn’t—”

“They invited everyone,” came the quick retort.

“Robbie.”

Sportacus didn’t know what to do. He swallowed nervously, unsure what could make the poor villain feel better.

“ _I’m_ glad you came,” he said quietly. “My family isn’t here either and, well, it’s nice to have someone to be with,” Sportacus admitted.

He loved the kids like they were his own, but Sportacus couldn’t help but be constantly reminded of his own loneliness every time he watched them head home to their real families. Even heroes got homesick now and again, and Sportacus couldn’t help but feel a pang in his chest this time of year in spite of all the Christmas joy that surrounded him. He had already sent and received lovely letters with his now-scattered family for the holidays and, while he treasured them dearly, it simply wasn’t the same as having his loved ones there in person.

His brief journey through loneliness completed, Sportacus looked back up at his friend. Robbie was giving him a strange look that Sportacus couldn’t quite identify. The villain looked him up and down, sending a nervous shiver down the hero’s spine. Sportacus swallowed his worry and forced a new smile.

“Y-yeah,” the man with horrible posture mumbled out of the blue before picking up a cookie to further occupy his mouth.

“Yeah what?” Sportacus asked curiously, wondering what was going on in the villain’s head.

“You’re supposed to be a Christmas elf, right?”

Sportacus nodded.

Robbie shrugged. “I guess that explains your height. And, if you _are_ an elf, then you lot are as dopey as I thought you might be,” he said nonchalantly before grabbing another cookie.

At least Robbie seemed to be back to his usual self now. Sportacus laughed.

“How so?”

Robbie rolled his eyes. “That mustache for starters.”

“What’s wrong with my mustache?”

“It’s stupid. It’s not even a mustache! It’s—it’s like your face _tried_ to grow a mustache, but didn’t have a frame of reference for one. It’s embarrassing.”

The hero swallowed, shifting his weight.

Robbie’s nose gave a quick twitch. “Uh…but…it looks good on you. N-not many people could pull it off.”

Sportacus returned to a soft smile at hearing that. “Th-thank you,” he mumbled as he felt a strange warmth grow on his cheeks. He should give a compliment in return. He looked up at the villain. “Y-your eyes are beautiful.”

Robbie went rigid as the cookie in his hand dropped to the floor. For a split second, the hero couldn’t figure out why. Until he realized the words that had come out of his mouth. Oh no. That had been a little too much, hadn’t it? Sportacus began to fidget in place as he tried to save things.

“No! I mean, uh, your…your hair! Yeah, your hair! It’s lovely. You style it perfectly!”

Why did Robbie still look so wide-eyed and flabbergasted?  Sportacus thought Robbie was proud of how well he kept his hair. Why was he so terrible at this? He’d been waiting for what felt like an eternity for Robbie to arrive, and now that the villain was here, Sportacus was probably making the poor man wish he had never come in the first place.

“Er…th-tha-than…” Robbie cleared his throat and quickly looked away.

“S-sorry!” Sportacus said quickly, looking for any way to reverse the damage he had done. “I’m not the best with conversation. A-all that time stuck at the North Pole! I don’t get much practice,” he said with a forced chuckle. “The reindeer aren’t very good conversational companions, unfortunately.”

Robbie gave a small snort of amusement, signaling that that had, apparently, been a good choice of words for the situation. The Christmas elf let out a sigh of relief.

“That explains a lot,” the villain commented. “Like I said, you elves are a dopey group.”

Sportacus let out a more genuine laugh at that. “Maybe you’re right about that after all.”

“Of course I’m right,” Robbie said, straightening up a bit after refilling his cup of punch. “Anyway, your outfit is weird, too.”

The hero blinked at the change in topic. He was a little unsure how to respond to that right away. Robbie had _made_ the outfit, after all. “Uh…” was all he managed to get out in any timely fashion.

After a few awkward seconds, Robbie decided to help him.

“You said you’re supposed to be a Christmas elf.”

He nodded. Hadn’t they just gone through this?

“Well, your little elf tailors make some goofy-looking outfits. It’s like they made you silly-looking on _purpose_ ,” he said before taking another sip of punch, smiling around the cup. “You know, I know a dumb elf that lives here in town. Wears blue from head to toe. Looks absolutely ridiculous.”

Sportacus snorted to try and keep himself from laughing too hard. “M-maybe it’s just his color.”

“Maybe, but sometimes you can have too much of a good thing. Ruins it entirely!”

In a burst of spontaneity, Sportacus decided in that moment to be bold. “I guess that’s true. B-but as far as colors go, I, uh, I don’t think I could ever get tired of seeing the color purple. It…it’s lovely.”

And Robbie was choking on his punch again. Sportacus immediately jumped in to help, patting the man’s back until he was swatted away. The villain set his cup down roughly on the table as he continued to cough.

“It’s not _safe_ to drink around you!” he scolded once he was able to speak again.

“Sorry,” the hero laughed, still trying to rub his back.

“Whatever.”

“Well, if we’re still on the subject of clothes,” Sportacus said with a small smile, “I may not exactly _blend in_ , but…I like my outfit a lot.” He caught Robbie’s eye and felt his face warm with affection. “It was a gift from…from someone very special to me.” He glanced away.

Both men refused to look at one another. Sportacus took up an interest in his boots while Robbie busied himself with observing the snacks still available on the table. Their silly game of avoidance probably would have lasted much longer if the mayor hadn’t interrupted it with an announcement.

“Well, then! May I have everyone’s attention, please?” the mayor called from a small podium across the room. “Thank you all for coming. It’s so wonderful to see such a big turnout. Oh, and we couldn’t have this party without you. Now that everyone seems to be here, why don’t we _really_ get this party started? Ms. Busybody, if you could…uh, please?”

The music started in earnest, to which the gaggle of children all cheered before racing out to the dance floor. Not everyone wanted to join in on the fun right away, of course, but the men watched as the kids were slowly joined by their families and neighbors while the music boomed from above. A few of the adults began to pair off as they bounced and bopped. Sportacus caught sight of Cindy and Shannon swinging each other around the floor, both of them laughing. He felt a small pang of jealousy as he watched them. The two looked so happy together out there.

Maybe that could be him, though. There had to be a chance of that, yes? Robbie had made him an entire costume unprompted. And humored his Merri Mint persona. And spoken to him. Robbie hadn’t even run away when Sportacus tried to flirt with him. Maybe, just maybe, the hero’s fears had been wrong and Robbie Rotten, Villain Number One, actually _did_ like him.

Sportacus took in a deep breath. He would ask his villain to dance with him. _Him_ , this time, not some suave bandit from parts unknown. Sportacus Ten would ask the man he so admired to dance with him. And it would be amazing. He swallowed his nerves and turned back to the tall man. Only, Robbie was gone. His cup sat half-emptied on the table.

Sportacus spun around in shock and confusion, looking every which way for some clue as to the villain’s whereabouts. He spotted the man some distance away and heading toward the coat rack by the door. With an alarmed gasp, the hero chased after him, just barely catching the man as Robbie pulled a second arm through the sleeve of his coat.

“Robbie, wait!”

The villain winced at the sound of his voice.

“Where are you going?” Sportacus asked worriedly. “Did I say something wrong?”

Robbie stared at the floor for a few seconds before sadly shaking his head. “N-no. I just…I have to go,” he muttered as he turned toward the door.

Sportacus grabbed his arm.

“Robbie, what’s wrong?”

The man yanked his arm away and headed outside without a word. At a loss for what else to do, Sportacus followed. Robbie hurried down the stairs as he replaced his earmuffs and reached for his mittens.

“Robbie, please stop.”

Much to the hero’s surprise, the man obeyed, though he didn’t immediately turn around.

“Please tell me what’s wrong,” Sportacus pleaded.

His mind was running. Had he _really_ said nothing wrong? Maybe he had a little more forward than intended. At the same time, He had thought that Robbie _wanted_ him to wear the Christmas elf costume, but he might be wrong. The man _had_ made fun of it, after all. Sportacus had thought he was just teasing, playing his role, perhaps. Or, maybe the villain had been laughing at what a cool the hero had been to have taken things seriously. And now Robbie was leaving.

Robbie pulled the collar of his coat up to protect his cheeks from the cold winter wind. He glanced over at Sportacus with a sad expression.

“The music was...too loud,” the villain mumbled with a shrug. He kept his eyes slightly downcast.

Sportacus offered the man a sympathetic smile. He glanced back at the city hall as the door gave a final bounce on its hinge. Even with the doors closed, he could still clearly hear the music booming from inside; he could almost make out the words even from here. Yes, maybe it _was_ a little too loud. At least _he_ hadn’t been the problem. In fact, maybe the evening could even still be salvageable.

“Robbie…”

The villain looked up. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other as he met the hero’s eyes. Robbie’s nose and lips were twitched with nervousness again. It made Sportacus smile. As much as he wished for Robbie to be relaxed and happy, he had to admit he loved the man’s constant ticks.

“Before you left I was going to, well…I was going to ask you something,” the Christmas elf admitted nervously, bouncing ever so slightly on his heels as he worked to regain his earlier courage.

Robbie eyed him suspiciously. “What is it?” he asked slowly.

“I was...” Sportacus let out a long breath and let his muscles relax. “…going to ask you if you would like to dance.”

The villain’s eyes widened and, though Sportacus’ limbs had relaxed, his own were suddenly very tense. Sportacus held his breath as he waited for an answer. Robbie, meanwhile, looked like his brain was short-circuiting. His nose twitched, he was turning his mittens over and over again in his hands, and a stuttering noise was all that could escape his lips for some time.

“It, uh,” the man verbally stumbled, “It’s not exactly my _thing_ …w-with all the movement and exercise and…” He glanced up to meet Sportacus’ eye and immediately halted his words at the look of complete disappointment on the short man’s face.

“Oh. That’s…alright,” Sportacus said quietly, trying to keep the pain in his chest from making its ways into his words. “I understand. I…should have thought of that.”

“N-no!” Robbie shouted abruptly, taking a step toward the festively-dressed hero before halting himself.

Sportacus blinked in surprise.

“I mean, uh…” Robbie made a few sputtering sounds before he could speak properly again. “What I mean is…well, m-maybe I could make an exception.” He bit his lip before quickly adding “ _For Christmas_ , I mean! For the party.”

Sportacus’ breath hitched as Robbie’s words reached his ears. His chest swelled so suddenly that it felt like he was about to burst. His cheeks practically hurt from how quickly the wide, bright smile spread across his face. He jumped into the air, spinning around in place so quickly that it made the villain take two steps back from him.

“Robbie! You— _ha-ha_!” He bounced on his heels and quickly closed the distance between then, not noticing how Robbie leaned back from his surprisingly aggressive advance. “Really?”

The taller man slowly began to relax once Sportacus had come to a nice, safe stop. A smile even tried to find its way to his lips. “Well, a second ago I would have said yes, but…you’re getting awful close there, Mister Merri Elf.”

Sportacus held up his hands and took a large step back. “Sorry,” he laughed. “I just got a little excited.”

“I can see that. Like I said earlier. Elves…” Robbie shook his head and gave an overly-dramatic shiver that just made Sportacus laugh even more.

The hero glanced back over his shoulder at city hall. The loud music was still playing, though it was a different, slightly slower song now. He rubbed his hands together excitedly and turned to look up at Robbie. He stood a little straighter, shoulders back.

“Robbie Rotten,” Sportacus said with a grand smile and an outstretched hand. “M-may I have this dance?”

The villain blinked, looking down at the hero’s hand. He rubbed his fingers together before slowly, hesitantly, reaching out and placing his hand in Sportacus’. The two men looked at one another, their eyes locking. Suddenly, winter in LazyTown didn’t feel nearly so cold. Robbie smiled. It was small and accompanied by a deep red blush across the villain’s chilled cheeks, but Sportacus thought it was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

“I promise I won’t step on your feet this time,” the hero giggled as they each stepped closer and took their positions.

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep, elf.”

Sportacus snickered.

“And stop bouncing.”

“Oh, sorry! I didn’t realize I was still doing that.”

Sportacus grinned up at Robbie, basking in the warmth racing throughout his body as he saw the crooked smile he was getting in return. This was it, everything he had ever dreamed. He was with Robbie Rotten, and his dastardly, beautiful, genius villain was smiling at him. A big—well, growing—genuine smile.

“How about I count?” Sportacus offered. “And…one, two, three…one, two, three…”

Though neither man was very graceful thanks to the overwhelming excited-yet-nervous energy in the air, both were thrilled just to be standing where they were. Sportacus practically squealed in delight when Robbie briefly took the lead and spun the pair in a circle in time with the music coming from inside.

“You’re very good at this,” Sportacus complimented.

“Just because I’m lazy doesn’t mean I can’t dance,” Robbie countered.

“So I see.”

Robbie’s nose twitched for a moment as the pair began to slow. He swallowed, leaning ever so slightly closer. Sportacus, meanwhile, felt his heart leap into his throat at feeling the man finally being so close. The music was slowly drowned out by the sound of his own heartbeat. He leaned in, trembling in hopeful anticipation.

Robbie’s eyes fluttered up, over Sportacus’ head. He abruptly pulled back, his smile quickly falling away as he released the hero from his arms. Sportacus stood in startled surprise while Robbie continued to back up.

“Robbie?”

The villain shook his head. “N-no,” he squeaked as he waved his arms in front of his face. “This wasn’t—we aren’t—I can’t… _it_ can’t!” he cried before hurrying, much to Sportacus’ surprise, back toward city hall and through the front door.

The hero stood there, mouth agape as he tried to figure out what had just happened. A small squeak from somewhere nearby gave him a clue. The hero spun around to see an equally horrified Trixie standing in a nearby bush. In her hand was a crude fishing pole and, at the end of its line, a sprig of mistletoe.

“I didn’t…I didn’t mean to…” the girl cried in a panic as she looked from Sportacus to city hall and back to the hero again. “I’m sorry! I’m sorry, Sportacus! I didn’t mean to chase him off!”

Sportacus couldn’t muster words. He looked back to city hall, suddenly able to feel the chill in the winter air.


	4. Part IV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My apologies for any typos--I'm a tad sleepy and should reread this sucker, but I'd rather get it up now than later. I'll fix any issues I find later when I'm more awake XD

“I’m really sorry, Sportacus! I didn’t mean for him to…oh no, I’m so sorry!” Trixie cried as she struggled to escape the confines of her snowy bush. The girl tumbled forward, landing in the surrounding snow drift. She got to her feet, shivering from the cold sting against her skin. “I didn’t mean to chase him off! I—I was only trying to help!”

The hero’s mind, though still in a fog from what had just happened, instinctually drove him to the distressed child’s side to comfort her. He knelt by her side to give the panicking girl a hand to help her back to her feet. She continued to babble at him through it all. Sportacus wrapped his arms around her and gently shushed the child as he ran a hand up and down Trixie’s back.

“Let’s get you inside. It’s freezing out here and you don’t even have a coat on.”

Trixie whimpered and nodded, hugging her fishing rod to her chest as Sportacus quietly lead her back inside.

The peaceful quiet of winter abruptly clashed with the roar of the Christmas dance music that hit them as they walked inside. To see the party carrying on with such fervor after what had just transpired outside was jarring, to say the least. In spite of himself, Sportacus had the urge to shout at the nearby party-goers to calm their festivities out of respect for his own personal feelings, but he fought it down. He turned his back on the dancefloor to block it from his vision, and knelt down in front of the still-sniffling Trixie.

“Are you okay?” he asked gently as he brushed some snow off of the child’s shoulders and hair.

The question only seemed to upset Trixie even more, and she threw her small fishing rod at the wall as hard as she could. She looked upset when, instead of breaking, it merely bounced off and rolled under the skirt of the Christmas tree nearby. She huffed and sniffled, then wiped her nose on her sleeve. Sportacus sighed and pulled a festively colored handkerchief out of his costume’s shirt pocket.

“I’m sorry,” she whined as the hero helped her clean up.

“I know. It’s okay,” Sportacus replied quietly, unsure if the girl was trembling from nerves or the snow.

“It’s _not_!” she protested. “I—I thought if you two got to kiss, everything would be okay! And I ruined it! It’s not fair!”

“What is?” Sportacus asked in concern. “Trixie, I don’t understand. You need to try and talk a little slower, okay? Take big, slow breaths, okay? Like this—!” He demonstrated and waited for the girl to copy him. “Good. And a long breath out.” He watched her do her best to replicate his example. “good, good. Now, slowly, what’s not fair? And wh-why do you want Robbie and me to kiss?”

His own personal desires notwithstanding.

“Because you love each other!” the girl cried loudly enough to make the hero lean back in sudden surprise.

“L-love?” The word felt alien on Sportacus’ lips. “Trixie, that...is a very strong word. Wh-what makes you think that Robbie and I…uh…?”

“ _Halloween_!” the girl practically sobbed. “You were trick-or-treating with us, and you were so _happy_ and _Robbie_ was happy and you hung out all night, and Robbie even went to get you when…” She sighed and gave a sniffle. “You were real happy and...and we wanted you to keep being happy ‘cause…every time Robbie plays with us, you get a really big smile on your face and you were looking for him the whole party and...we… _I_ thought maybe if you two kissed, then you’d _both_ smile like that.”

Sportacus sighed. The girl’s heart seemed to be in the right place, but he wished that she had thought to come speak with him first before acting on her feelings. Then maybe poor Robbie wouldn’t have felt the need to run. And Trixie wouldn’t be crying in his arms from guilt. And maybe Sportacus could have _gotten_ that kiss. He pulled the child into a hug and rubbed her back, letting the young troublemaker whimper into his shoulder as another wave of emotion hit her.

“I appreciate the gesture, Trixie,” Sportacus said quietly, trying to pick his words carefully, “But you shouldn’t try to force two people to be together. They must be allowed to come together on their own, when they’re ready. You wouldn’t want to be forced to do something if you weren’t ready yet, would you?”

Trixie shook her head, rubbing her face against Sportacus’ shirt. “No,” came her muffled reply. He pulled away and sniffled. “So…Robbie wasn’t ready, I guess…?”

The hero gave a slow shake of his head. “No, I don’t think so.”

“But that’s not fair!” the girl whimpered. “You really like him and…and…”

“That doesn’t matter, though, Trixie.”

She stared.

Sportacus felt a knot twist in his stomach as he spoke. “N-no matter how much someone likes a person, they can’t make that person like them back, or want to be with them. Sometimes...people just don’t end up together.”

“But you love Robbie!”

He had to look at the floor for a second to compose himself. “I don’t know about that,” he said slowly. “I…care for Robbie very much. But _love_ is a complicated thing, Trixie. Many people confuse liking someone with loving someone. Love takes time.”

The girl groaned. “Then you _really like him_!”

He snorted in amusement. “Yes, I do. But no one can make him feel that way in return, understand?”

She nodded, but looked more dejected than the hero would have liked. “It’s still not fair,” she grumbled.

“Maybe not, but that’s how things are sometimes.”

“I’m sorry I messed things up, Sportacus. We all just wanted you two to be happy for Christmas.”

He was about to reassure the girl that it was alright when her words fully registered for him. “ _We?_ ”

Trixie nodded, keeping her eyes firmly on the floor.

“What is going on, Trixie?”

After an awkward pause, the girl let out a heavy sigh. Sportacus waited for her answer.

“We _all_ wanted you to be happy. We thought…tonight could be our Christmas present to you and Robbie.”

“By having us kiss?” Sportacus asked in mild confusion.

“N-not just that. Just…everything. Like on Halloween. We had a whole plan and everything!” Trixie wailed in dismay. “We got Robbie to actually _come_ , and we made sure you got each other for the Secret Santa, and we were gonna have Pixel hijack the music so you could slow dance, and Stephanie made that big cake, and—”

“Wait, wait…” Sportacus shook his head. “You kids did all that…just to try and get me and Robbie together?”

He gave the tree a quick glance, eyes drifting over the box that he had seen Robbie set under it when he arrived. The man pulled his eyes away to see Trixie shrug and kick at some dust on the floor.

The hero sighed and wet his lips. “That’s all very sweet, Trixie, and I appreciate the thought, but—”

“We can’t force you. Or Robbie,” she mumbled. “I’m sorry, Sportacus.”

The hero wrapped the surprised girl in a sudden hug. “It’s alright. Now, you should go enjoy the rest of the party, okay?”

“B-but what about Robbie?”

That was a tough one. On one hand, he wanted to race to the villain’s side and find a way to make him somehow feel better. But that probably wouldn’t be the best course of action. Sportacus knew how Robbie valued his privacy, and confronting him about what they almost did…the hero didn’t want to hurt the man’s pride, either. This evening had _almost_ been a dream come true. Though personally disappointed, Sportacus didn’t want to risk turning it into a bigger nightmare for his already embarrassed villain.

“I think…I should probably leave Robbie be for a little bit,” the hero managed to say as the words fought against his heart for their escape. “You go find the others and have fun, okay?”

“What about you?”

“I’ll…I’ll go get some more sportscandy for dinner. I’ll stay long enough for the gift exchange, okay?”

She didn’t answer right away.

“I’ll be okay,” the man said with a smile. “I promise.”

Trixie bit her lip, but nodded. She looked up at the hero as he stood to his full height.

“Now go have fun, okay?”

“Okay.”

Trixie started back toward the cluster of people. She glanced over her shoulder to spy Sportacus again eying Robbie’s gift for him under the tree.  He didn’t _look_ okay, that was for sure.

“What happened?”

She looked up at Stephanie, her friend’s eyes full of concern. Trixie shrugged and shoved her hands in her pockets. She didn’t really want to talk about it, but she knew she had to. She lead Stephanie further into the party so she wouldn’t have to see how sad Sportacus looked.

“I saw Sportacus talking to you. Is…everything okay?”

“No.” the dark-haired girl mumbled. “I screwed up! Everything was going great, and I thought putting them under some mistletoe would help him figure things out But…but then…Robbie ran away and now Sportacus is heartbroken and it’s all my fault and I ruined their Christmases and everyone’s plans!” she rambled, unable to stop herself once she got going. “Pinky, I ruined everything!”

Stephanie looked shocked for a moment as she took in the story. “Oh no. Um…I’m sure we can fix this, though. There’s always a way, right? We just need to find Robbie and apologize! Then maybe he’ll talk to Sportacus again and…everything’ll be better again!”

“Do you really think so?” Trixie asked worriedly.

Stephanie nodded, an enthusiastic smile on her face. “Yeah!” She reached out and grabbed her friend into a big hug. “Don’t worry, Trixie. We’ll fix it.”

She pulled away from her friend. “But Sportacus said we shouldn’t force two people to be together.”

“We’re not,” Stephanie said confidently. “Well, not now.” She made a face. “Okay, maybe it _was_ wrong of us for trying to push things but…now we’re _fixing_ things instead.” The pink-covered girl scrunched her nose as she mulled things over. “We just need to find Robbie and tell him we’re sorry and we’ll leave him and Sportacus alone.” She sighed in obvious disappointment. “I just wish those two would stop being so silly, though. It’s obvious they like each other.”

“I think it’s one of those times where everybody knows it except them,” Trixie agreed in frustration.

Stephanie nodded sadly.

“Okay,” Trixie huffed as she wiped her eyes one final time. “We have a villain to find. You take that half of the building and I’ll take this one. If you see any of the others, let them know what’s happening.”

“That sounds like the Trixie I know,” Stephanie giggled before giving her friend a salute.

The girls shared a quick smile and headed off in different directions.

*****

“He’s not in Uncle Milford’s office,” Stephanie sighed.

“He’s not anywhere outside, either,” Pixel declared, still brushing some snow out of his hair. “I didn’t detect any footprints leading away from town hall. “Did you find anything, Stingy?”

“He’s not by my presents.”

Stephanie gave her friend a look, hands on her hips as she shook her head. “ _Stingy_ , we need to find Robbie, not steal everyone’s Christmas presents. Put those back for the gift exchange.”

The boy gave a sigh, but turned to go put back the couple of boxes he still held back under the tree. He grumbled the entire way.

“I checked by the food,” Ziggy said through a mouthful of cookies. “Robbie’s not there.”

Trixie stamped her foot in frustration. “I didn’t find him either. _Ugh_ , I’d hoped you guys would have found something. Where could he _be_?”

All the kids exchanged disheartened looks as they waited for the last of their ranks to return.

Suddenly, “Sportacus at two o’clock!” Pixel whispered probably a little too loudly.

Everyone’s heads snapped up at the warning. The group turned to see the town hero, hands on his hips and head cocked to the side in tired amusement, speaking with Stingy near the Christmas tree. Sportacus appeared busy giving the child a miniature lecture about giving at Christmas rather than receiving. The man glanced toward the group for only a second…but upon realizing there were four pairs of eyes fixed on him, gave the group a second, more concerned, look.

Everyone immediately looked in a different direction to avoid any further suspicion. Ziggy tried to whistle nonchalantly, but just ended up spitting cookie crumbs everywhere. Trixie took a step back to avoid the spray. From the look of things, Stingy was trying to call back Sportacus’ attention with a question. Trixie jumped into action the moment she saw the hero’s eyes turn away.

“Scatter!” she hissed.

The kids hurried off in separate directions, each of them trying to think of where else they hadn’t looked yet.

Sportacus saw Stingy off and looked up to get a better idea of what the kids might be up to clustered together like they were…but none of them were left. Even Stingy made himself scarce a little faster than he would have expected. The hero frowned, suspicious. Those kids had better not be trying to pull any more romantic shenanigans…especially considering Robbie had probably already snuck out of the party entirely and gone home. Not that Sportacus could blame him. The usually chipper hero was still feeling rather dispirited himself.

He had promised Trixie that he would stay until the gifts were distributed. It had partially been to calm the poor child…but mostly, Sportacus hoped that Robbie would return for the exchange. According to Trixie, his young friends had ensured that Sportacus and Robbie would exchange presents. He wanted to know now what Robbie had gotten for him. But, more than that, he wanted to see Robbie open his own Christmas present. He needed to know Robbie wouldn’t reject his heartfelt offer. But now, he wasn’t even sure the man would appear to retrieve it. Once the others had exchanged their Secret Santa spoils, he decided, he would head home to the airship. Maybe rereading his family’s letters would be some semblance of company for the night.

*****

Trixie sighed, leaning against the wall of the small hallway. There was no sign of Robbie anywhere, not even the stupid broom closet. They had checked everywhere they could think of. It wasn’t like the building was very big to begin with, and they were running out of time. Even now she could hear the mayor interrupting the dance music with an announcement that the gift exchange and party games would be starting soon. The girl groaned and covered her face, growling loudly in frustration. Aw man, she had really messed things up this time. Halloween was bad enough, but _this_ … She turned her face up to the ceiling with a moaning whine. Trixie closed her eyes.

“Santa,” she whispered quietly, eyes slowly reopening. “If you’re listening…I-I’m sorry. I know you’ve got a ton of things going on. Y-ya know, Christmas and all…but you’re supposed to be watching a lot this time of year…” She took a deep breath. “I know it’s asking a lot, but if you could help me find Robbie and fix the stuff I messed up…again. Y-you can take back all the presents I’m supposed to get this year, okay? And next year, too! I just…want to fix this.”

The girl sniffled, wiping a bit of moisture attempting to collect at the corner of her eye. She was _not_ going down that road again tonight. Not now, anyway; she was busy.

Trixie looked up and down the short, woefully empty hallway. Well, she might as well go to the bathroom while she was here. She pushed off the wall and wandered toward the restroom door waiting across from her. Her hand was almost on the door when she finally caught sight of the symbol on the door.

“Darn, it’s the men’s room,” she grumbled to herself.

Trixie turned to walk away in search of another bathroom, but stopped dead in her tracks. The girl looked over her shoulder.

“Wait…”

The men’s room. Had the boys checked the men’s room? She and Stephanie sure couldn’t. What if…?

Trixie hurried back to the door and pressed her ear against it. She didn’t hear anything right off the bat. But she had to be sure. The little troublemaker pursed her lips, stood a little straighter, and knocked firmly on the door.

“ _Occupied!_ ” came an angry-sounding response from somewhere inside. “ _Erg_ …go away!”

Got him.

Trixie glanced back toward the main hall. No, there was no time to go find one of the boys. If she was going to fix things before present time, she would have to do it on her own.

She knocked on the door again. “Robbie?”

There was a strange repeated gasping-like noise from the other side of the door. Yup, definitely Robbie.

“N-no! Go away! I’m, uh, the janitor! There’s a broken toilet and, trust me, you _don’t_ want to come in here! Now shoo!”

“You better be decent!” Trixie called before pushing the door open and tromping inside.

Startled from where he was sitting near the sinks, Robbie jumped up only to hit his head on the underside of the paper towel dispenser, which sent him straight back to the floor. He groaned and held his now-aching head. Trixie winced in sympathy at the sight before taking a quick look around; she had never been in the men’s room before, after all. She had limited time to set things right, but a second or two of looking around wouldn’t hurt, right?

“Wow, what are those?” she asked, intrigued by the strange porcelain structures sticking out from the wall on one side of the room.

“Never mind those!” Robbie snapped from where he cowered in the corner. “You’re not even supposed to be in here, you little hobgoblin!”

Right, gotta stay on track. Trixie approached the town villain. “We’ve been looking all over for you.”

“Why?” he snapped. “You come to cause even _more_ damage?” Robbie asked angrily.

Trixie didn’t like how red Robbie’s eyes looked around their edges. She wrung her hands guiltily and kept her eyes low.

“I wanted to apologize for what happened. I didn’t mean to make you feel bad.”

“Apology not accepted! How _dare_ you intrude on someone like that! That was…that was… _Arrugh!_ ”

Trixie winced again. Well, this…wasn’t going as well as she had hoped.

“I know,” she sighed. “I’m...real sorry. What I did was…bad.”

Robbie snorted and rolled his eyes, folding his arms tightly over his chest. “You can say that again!”

“What I did was _super_ bad,” the girl sighed. “I thought I was helping, but…now I know I was wrong.”

Robbie huffed, but didn’t say anything.

“You and Sportacus are just so _happy_ when you’re together! It’s obvious you like each other! I j-just wanted to…to help.”

Robbie’s cheeks suddenly matched the red that still rimmed his eyes. His shoulders pulled themselves up around his ears as he turned to stare at the tile on the wall. He absently fingered the winter coat crumpled  up on the floor beside him.

“I don’t like Sportaclutz! H-how could you ever—?”

Trixie rolled her eyes. She put her hands on her and, with a sigh, replied with “ _Robbie_. Sportacus is crazy about you! You saw him on Halloween! And…and look at today! He was looking for you everywhere the entire party!”

“H-he was?” the villain asked, turning just enough to see the expression on the child’s face.

Trixie gave him a firm nod before shrinking back again. “Yeah. I…I know I screwed up. I hurt you, and I h-hurt Sportacus, too, and…I’m really sorry,” she said, ending with a stifled whimper.

Robbie blinked and gave the girl a look. “Uh…h-hey,” he said awkwardly as he spied the tears trying to form in the little troublemaker’s eyes. “S-stop that. Stop with the leaking.”

“Sorry,” Trixie whimpered. She grunted in frustration, stamping her foot. “I didn’t want to cry again!” she yelled at herself.

“Then don’t!” Robbie cried, looking frightened.

“I just wanted you and Sportacus to be happy…I didn’t mean to ruin everything! But…I did. And I’m real sorry.”

The man shrugged and pressed himself back further against the wall. “Fine. You apologized. You can go away now.”

Trixie forced down her tears and tried her best to speak evenly. “But...what about you?”

“What _about_ me?”

“You’re gonna come back out and join the party, right?”

“No.”

Trixie stared.

“Take a picture. It’ll last longer.”

“H-how come?” the girl asked with a frown.

Robbie’s eyes fell to the floor and he shrugged. “I don’t want to. Isn’t that enough?”

Aw man. She really _had_ screwed things up, hadn’t she? Trixie nibbled on her lower lip as she walked over to the villain’s side and sat down. Robbie gave her a look and inched away as she invaded the outskirts of his personal bubble. Okay, this was going to be tough. But she had to. For Sportacus. And for Robbie, too.

“How come you’re hiding in here instead of going back out to the party?”

“What, back out to all those people and that loud music and… _him_?”

“Sportacus?” she asked with a confused frown.

Robbie balled up his coat and hugged it to his chest instead of answering right away. Trixie made a slight face as she watched the man pout. How come the villain suddenly reminded her so much of Ziggy?

“Who else?” the man grumbled sadly.

“What’s wrong with Sportacus?”

Again, Robbie didn’t answer right away. After a few agonizing seconds, he finally let out a long sigh. “Nothing. That’s the problem.”

“I don’t get it.”

“Of _course_ you don’t get it, you’re just a brat!”

“Hey!”

“Y-you know what I mean!”

Trixie gave him a look. “Just ‘cause I’m not a grownup doesn’t mean I can’t tell Sportacus is crazy about you.”

Robbie sputtered for a moment, shaking his head before he gave the child a long, startled look. “Why would you _say_ that?”

“Because it’s true!”

“ _Pffft_.” Robbie turned away again.

Trixie watched the man for a few seconds, noticing how Robbie’s eyes seemed to be looking through the bathroom wall instead of at it. Not to mention his white knuckle grip on that coat of his.

“Do…you think Sportacus doesn’t like you?” she ventured curiously.

Robbie’s shoulders tensed instantly. Bingo.

“He does, you know,” the girl said quietly. “He was super happy when you finally showed up.”

“Don’t know why…”

“Why what?”

Robbie rolled his eyes with a grumble. “Why he’d like me!” he growled. “What else?”

Trixie shrugged. “I dunno. Sportacus likes everyone.” Robbie hunched his shoulders. “But…he’s always extra happy to see _you_. He seemed _really_ happy with you outside before…well, because I was a jerk.” She sighed. “I’m sorry if I embarrassed you. I didn’t mean it.”

Another pause.

“It’s…okay,” Robbie finally said. “It’s…been a weird night.”

“You can say that again!” Trixie moaned.

Did Robbie just snicker?

The villain slowly looked over at the girl sitting next to him. He took in a deep breath before speaking again. “What makes you think the Sportakook likes me?” he questioned. “You _do_ realize I’m a villain. A _good_ one, too, I’ll have you know.”

Trixie grinned. “Yeah, and?”

“And? And! And why would a _hero_ like a dastardly villain such as myself?” Robbie demanded. He blinked a few times before groaning and dropping his face into the palm of his hand. “Good heavens I’m asking a prepubescent child about relationships.”

Trixie frowned and put her fists on her hips. “Who’re you calling prepubescent?” she demanded, not too fond on being insulted after having such a stressful time trying to find the man.

Robbie leaned his head back and rolled his eyes.

“It feels like a cruel joke,” the man said suddenly. “Stupid Sportaperfect smiling at me like that. Even if he actually liked me, it’s not like it would last. I’m a _villain_. And I’m not about to change who I am for some flippy-floppy fitness freak, no matter _how_ handsome he is! Or…how nice…or caring…or…oh, I’m in too deep,” the man whimpered.

“Well,” Trixie said slowly, trying to fully understand something she knew was probably didn’t fully grasp yet. This was definitely sounding more and more like one of those adult things that made no sense. No wonder she had screwed things up so much so fast. “How do you know if stuff won’t ‘last’ if you don’t give it a try?” she asked. “Sportacus says that if you’re scared of failing, you’ll never try anything new…I’d say you two being all mushy is probably something pretty new, right?”

Robbie sat there quietly, taking in the girl’s words. Trixie squirmed nervously beside him, hoping she hadn’t said the wrong thing. She couldn’t tell what might be running through Robbie’s mind; as wildly expressive as the villain usually was, his face now looked so…blank. Like he wasn’t even home anymore. Maybe she needed to call him back.

“Y-you’ll come back out to the party, right?” Trixie asked quietly.

The villain sighed. “I don’t think so, Tricky. I’ll just…wait here…until the party dies down, anyway. Hopefully there’ll be some leftovers I can grab…”

“But! But you can’t! You’ll miss the Secret Santa!” Trixie yelped, suddenly jumping to her feet. “It—it’s gonna happen any minute now! You need to be out there!”

“Why?”

“B-because you need to give your gift to…” No, no. Robbie didn’t need to know about that part. “You don’t want to disappoint them, do you?”

Robbie suddenly looked like a guilty child who had just been scolded for stealing a cookie. She should know; she had worn that look herself many a time.

“Besides, you’ve gotta get _your_ gift, too!” she pointed out. “I mean, heck, Stingy was practically stealing presents earlier. If you leave yours out there he’s just gonna take it home with him.”

Trixie watched as Robbie’s eyes widened in alarm at the revelation. Yes! She would have to thank Stingy for the inspiration later, though he would probably be more offended than anything. Oh well. The girl looked up at the bathroom door as the music seeping in from the other side disappeared. The mayor’s voice quickly replaced it and, though she couldn’t quite make out the words, Trixie knew exactly what that meant.

“It’s Secret Santa time.” She grabbed at the villain’s arm. “Come _on_ , Robbie! It’s now or never! Get off your butt!”

To her surprise, the man practically jumped to his feet. Luckily, he managed to avoid smacking his head this time. Robbie held his coat to his chest, his fingers twitching wildly, as though he was playing some mini piano that Trixie couldn’t see. His eyes were fixated on the bathroom door.

“ _Ugh_. Come _on_ , Robbie,” she insisted.

She gave his sleeve a quick tug before rushing over to the door and pulling it open to further encourage him. The man didn’t budge.

“Sportacus said he was gonna leave right after the gift exchange! We gotta go!”

Robbie shook his head, as if emerging from a daze. He looked down at the girl with a worried brow. “Sportaloon is leaving after…?”

She nodded urgently. “Yeah! It’s now or never, Robbie!”

“Now or never,” he whispered.

Robbie gave a ragged sigh and briefly tightened his grip on his coat. For a moment, Trixie was worried he was going to back into his fight-or-flight impulse and go hide in one of the bathroom stalls for the duration of the evening. Instead, the villain rushed past her and into the crowd a short distance beyond.

“Yes!”

Trixie punched the air in triumph. She gave the weird porcelain wall things one last look, making a mental note to sneak back in later and investigate further, and headed out after the town villain to make sure the man followed through.

“Trixie!” came Stephanie’s voice through the crowd. “Trixie, it’s Robbie!”

“I know isn’t it great?”

“Wait, you saw him already?”

“Yeah. He was hiding in the bathroom.”

“The boys’ room?”

The dark-haired girl nodded with a large smile on her face. “Yep! I _found_ him in there!”

“You went in the boys’ room?” Stephanie asked in horror.

“I sure did!” Trixie said proudly. She grabbed her friend’s hand. “Now come on, we gotta make sure he doesn’t go and screw things up!”

*****

The citizens of LazyTown were exchanging Christmas gifts. Kids, adults…everyone but him, it seemed. Sportacus watched as presents were retrieved and given away. The building filled with laughter and words of thanks between the townsfolk. Meanwhile, his gift remained. Sportacus fought the urge to take up the box that Robbie had brought for him; as much as he wanted to see what might be inside, Sportacus knew it wasn’t right to open it without Robbie being there to present it.

He sighed. The villain was long gone, probably having snuck out of the party some time ago to head back to his lair. He should probably do the same. He had included a small tag with his contribution reading ‘To: Robbie Rotten’ at least; Sportacus could leave his villain’s Christmas present for him to find later. If he came back to city hall, that was. Maybe Robbie would like his gift better if he _didn’t_ know it came from the town hero anyway. Sportacus sighed and headed for the front door.

“Wait!” came a weak cry from somewhere behind him.

The hero turned around, holding his breath as time briefly seemed to slow down. Robbie was standing just a few feet behind him. The man’s hands were shaking as he held his coat and his eyes were as big as saucers. Sportacus swallowed nervously, unsure what to expect. Robbie was still here?

“D-don’t go,” Robbie said, his voice barely above a whisper. His eyes darted back and forth between Sportacus and the Christmas tree. “I, uh…here.”

Robbie shoved his winter coat at the hero before hurrying over to the tree to retrieve the gift he had brought. He stalked back with arms outstretched. He almost looked like he was holding a box filled with lava with how frightened he looked.

“H-here,” he managed to squeak. “M-Merry Chr-Christmas, Sp-Sporta—Sportacus.”

The hero felt himself begin to smile as he squeezed the winter coat he now held in his arms. Robbie looked so scared, yet so…hopeful. The man had come back, even after what had happened. He came back just to give him a Christmas present. Sportacus cleared his throat, his own courage bubbling back to the surface now that Robbie’s had inspired him so.

“Who’s that?”

Robbie frowned, his lips slowly flapping as they tried to figure out how to respond to that. The hero couldn’t help but giggle at the face his villain was making.

“I d-don’t know who Sportacus is, but I’ll make sure he gets this,” the hero lightly teased as he shifted the coat to one arm and took Robbie’s gift with careful hands.

Robbie’s face scrunched up immediately at the other man’s words. Sportacus suppressed his laughter, though he was fairly certain his amusement was plastered all over his face. He offered Robbie his coat back before skipping back toward the Christmas tree. Robbie watched in confusion as Sportacus stooped down to pick up the square package with the orange bow only to return to him moments later.

“I met a man earlier who said he was a slightly above average hero,” Sportacus explained as he held out the gift. “He…he said this was for you.”

The villain hesitantly raised his hands to take the little package. He stared at the cheery snowmen that gazed up at him from the wrapping paper for a moment before looking back up at its presenter.

“Wait, you got _my_ name?” he asked in disbelief.

The Christmas elf looked a little embarrassed as he nodded. “It seems we were…set up by a few of Secret Santa’s helpers,”

Sportacus said as he glanced out at the other part-goers. Robbie followed his gaze, just catching sight of a few little shapes scrambling out of view.

“I see,” Robbie said.

Robbie shook his head, but allowed himself the smallest of smiles before he looked back down at the present in his hands. Unfortunately, that’s when the music started up again. Although not nearly as loud as it had been, it was enough to make Robbie visibly wince at the sudden increase in volume. Sportacus put a gentle hand on the villain’s shoulder and, once he had the man’s attention, nodded questioningly toward the door. Robbie nodded and started to put on his coat while the hero went to hold the doors open for him.

“I swear it’s even colder somehow,” Robbie grumbled as he trudged past Sportacus and down the town hall steps.

“I guess with the sun having set so early, it’s getting colder earlier, too!” the man said as he followed behind, closing the doors behind him.

“At least it’s not snowing anymore.”

“No, but LazyTown looks beautiful with what _did_ fall, doesn’t it?”

Robbie looked out over the town. Everything was white, the snow undisturbed or muddied with footprints or the scrapings of shovels. Though it was already dark, the streetlights overhead gave the roads a lovely glow that, in spite of the cold, made the villain feel a little warm inside.

“Yeah,” he mumbled as he held the small box to his chest.

Sportacus wet his lips as his fluttery nerves slowly began to return. He looked up at Robbie with hopeful eyes.

“I’m glad you came back,” Sportacus admitted quietly.

“To tell the truth, I almost didn’t.” Robbie sighed. “I had a little Christmas goblin convince me it might be worth the effort.”

Sportacus made a face. He didn’t really understand what Robbie was talking about, but nodded nonetheless. He nodded toward the package in Robbie’s hands.

“You haven’t opened your gift yet,” he said with a slightly quivering voice.

“W-well you ha-haven’t either!” the villain countered with a dramatic fluster of blinks and vague gestures at the box Sportacus was still holding.

The town hero laughed. “Fair enough. I guess we should open them. Who should go first?”

Robbie shivered as a gust of wind cut between them. “Y-you!”

Sportacus felt a flitter-flutter in his chest. “Okay!”

He carefully unwrapped the box, hating to destroy the obvious care Robbie had put into wrapping it. Sportacus balanced the box in one hand while he pulled up the thin lid with the other. He gave a small gasp at the beautiful blue coat resting inside.

“Oh, Robbie,” Sportacus said softly as he set the box aside on the steps to better admire the coat already out and waiting in his hands. “It’s wonderful!”

He held it up to take in all the details. It was a lovely light blue with white-and-black stripes across the pockets while a cream-colored fur lined its inside. A large _10_ took up most of the back. It was as though his hero’s vest had been magically transformed. Sportacus could just make out a small ‘ _RR_ ’ stitched just inside the right cuff.

“You’re crazy always wandering around in this cold without anything on but that stupid scarf of yours!” Robbie scolded. “I…I figured you could, uh, use it.”

“Thank you, Robbie. This is…this is gorgeous!”

The hero quickly pulled on his new coat. The cold never really bothered him that much, but he couldn’t deny how soft and wonderfully warm the coat felt from the moment it rested upon his shoulders. And best of all, it still smelled like its creator. Sportacus nuzzled the fur inside the collar.

“I, uh, made sure it’s...well, _flexible_ ,” Robbie mumbled. “As annoying as your flipping and flopping can be, I figured you might be more likely to actually _use_ it if you could still move in the thing.”

“This is incredibly thoughtful, Robbie. It’s amazing. Thank you.”

The villain’s cheeks were far redder than he would have liked. Robbie shrugged and kept his eyes downcast. “Whatever.”

“I’m not sure my gift really holds up to yours,” Sportacus admitted sheepishly. “But…I hope you like it.”

“Of course it won’t hold up,” Robbie said with a faint grin. “I give the best Christmas presents!”

Sportacus giggled and nodded. “I think you’re right.”

The villain quickly sunk into his shoulders at the unexpected compliment and did his best not to unwrap his box like a nervous savage. He pried open the top of the box and furrowed his brow in surprise at its contents. There wasn’t one item, but two. The first was far more obvious.

“A book?”

Sportacus nodded excitedly. “Yes! Well, it _is_ a little used. It’s one of my favorites. I hoped you might like it, too. My family always give each other books at Christmas. I thought…hoped…you might like that one. M-my pabbi gave it to me when I was fifteen and I loved it. I’m sorry it’s not in better shape.”

“It’s fine,” Robbie mumbled as he let his fingers trail the spine of the worn, yet well cared for book. “Wow. Uh…” He shook his head. “And what’s…?”

Robbie pulled out some sort of plush animal. It was clearly homemade. So clearly, in fact, that it looked like it was made by a child’s hand. It was crude, and the stitching was uneven and terrible, but for what it was, a lot of detail and care had been put into the little thing.

“Is...is it a reindeer?” Robbie asked, raising an eyebrow at the strange yet somehow endearing little creature.

Robbie looked up to catch Sportacus nodding. The hero’s entire face was startlingly red.

“Yeah. I…I thought you might like a friend. I know you’ve said you have trouble sleeping sometimes and I thought you might like to have some company when that happens. So you won’t have to be alone at night.”

Robbie blinked. He stared at the hero for a few seconds before looking down at the little stuffed deer again. One of its antlers flopped to one side and its eyes were slightly uneven buttons. It looked like another family piece the hero might be using as a hand-me-down gift…except, judging by how pristine its fur was, the haphazardly-stitched critter was fairly new.

“Did you…make this?”

Looking terribly embarrassed, Sportacus nodded. “I know it’s not very good. Stephanie was teaching me how to sew so I could make it for you. I’m afraid she’s far more talented than I am. But…I hope you like it anyway.”

Robbie felt his throat trying to tie itself into a knot. The stupid buffoon had learned to sew just to make him a Christmas present? A present so he wouldn’t be all alone at night. Stupid Sportacus. Stupid Christmas. The villain watched his fingers begin to tremble as he held the doofy-looking reindeer that stared blankly—yet so warmly—up at him.

“I…I love it,” Robbie whispered reverently.

“Really?”

Robbie looked up to see the brightest smile he thought he had ever seen on Sportacus’ face. Even the man’s mustache seemed to be mimicking an extra smile. The villain nodded.

“Yeah. This…this is great, Sportaflop—I mean—Sportacus.” He wiped away something tickling the corner of his eye. “Tha—thaan— _thank_ you.”

“You’re welcome, Robbie. Merry Christmas.”

“Merry Christmas, Sportacus.”

There was a short silence between the pair before Robbie spoke up again.

“I’m sorry about before. It…everything was…” He sighed, unable to put things into words right away.

“I understand, Robbie. It’s okay to be overwhelmed.”

The villain looked up at Sportacus’ warm glow of a smile.

“I was a little overwhelmed, too,” the hero admitted. “But…it was still nice.”

After a second, Robbie nodded in agreement. “Yeah. It was. It was…almost perfect,” he added a bit sadly as he looked back down at the ground, holding his gifts close to his chest.

After a moment, Sportacus cleared his throat. Robbie looked up to find the hero turning something over in his hands and looking rather nervous. Sportacus let out a long breath before opening his palm to show a small spring of mistletoe, a bit of severed string still attached to it. Sportacus looked almost frightened as he held it out to the other man. Robbie couldn’t help but notice the hero’s hand was shaking.

He stared at the small sample of festive flora. Was Sportacus saying what he thought he was saying? Oh, he hoped so. Robbie reached out a hesitant hand to take up the small plant himself. How could something so light also feel so heavy? The villain glanced back up at his nervous-looking hero and swallowed.

Robbie held the small bit of mistletoe above them. He could hear Sportacus’ sharp intake of breath. Or was that his own? The tall man leaned forward, closing his eyes as he tried to ignore the thundering beat of his own heart. Something soft and moist pressed against his lips only a moment later. The faint scent of apples filled his nostrils. Robbie allowed himself to lean into the kiss, to savor every microsecond of the impossible dream come true.

After what felt like a blissful eternity, Sportacus’ lips retreated and Robbie opened his eyes. With how red they were now, Robbie figured that neither of them probably needed their coats at the moment. No doubt both men would be nice and warm on their journeys home tonight. Sportacus’ face looked like it probably hurt as much as Robbie’s currently did, what with their grand smiles.

A triumphant-sounding hiss somewhere nearby caught the villain’s attention. Both looked back toward town hall to see a small row of faces watching them from the front windows. There was a gasp and the faces quickly disappeared below the windowsill. Trixie’s was the last to disappear, and Robbie couldn’t help but notice the girl’s proud smile.

Hero and villain looked back at each other with a mixture of embarrassment and euphoric bliss. Robbie hugged his beautiful gift to his chest as Sportacus pulled his coat a bit closer.

“Merry Christmas.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this was able to meet any expectations after my Halloween fic. I've been second-guessing myself the entire time writing this...but I don't think it's as bad as I seem to have been trying to convince myself. 
> 
> ...stay tuned?

**Author's Note:**

> How did this become a series...?


End file.
